Rotten Reading: The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle

Ah, Sherlock Holmes.

The very name conjures up the image of a dude, who may or may not be followed by a dumpy guy with a mustache, decked out in houndstooth, magnifying glass in hand and looking for clues. Lately, however, the general public is just as likely to think about Downey Jr.'s grungey, druggy, semi-gay Holmes as they are to think of Rathbone's deerstarker-capped Holmes.

Me, I'm partial to Jeremy Brent, but I'm always open to suggestions.

Contemplating on his inherent awesomeness.

When I was younger, I knew next to nothing about the great detective, other than 'No shit, Sherlock' is quite the put-down. (The combination of a swear and a weird name? Blew my 10-year-old mind!) I wasn't fond of mystery stories back then, so Hound of the Baskervilles was probably the only story in my fourth-grade reading textbook that I didn't read. In fact, the first Sherlock story I read was the fan-novella 'Reichenbach: A Love Story', way back in 2007. After that, reading the entire collection of Sherlock Holmes stories (both Vol. 1 and Vol. II) was inevitable.

The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes is the last collection of Holmes stories, printed in 1927, and it is, in my opinion, the craziest of the five collections. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes feel like classic Holmes, utterly seeped in late Victorian London, and featuring two of most ascended of the ascended villains, Irene Adler and Professor Moriarty.

The Breakout Villain other villains aspire to be.

The Return of Sherlock Holmes has some of that classic feel, but it is also the collection after Holmes' death by author. I got a bit of a 'disgruntled author' vibe while reading it, but that was probably because I know a little bit of the 'behind the scenes' issues.

That vibe got stronger while reading His Last Bow. The title alone is enough of a warning that Conan Doyle really just wants to move on and work on his more serious stuff, mainly his historical novels and his theses on spiritualism and what-nots.

I knew I was in for a treat when Conan Doyle comes right out and says, in his preface to The Case-Book, "Hey, look. I know you love these guys. And I've had fun writing them. But I think it's time for us to move on." And I agree, but to a point. After reading all the novels and the stories, I've fallen very deeply in love with the men of 221B Baker Street. However, I don't think I would want to read any more Holmes stories if they're anything like the stories in Case-Book, which are pretty experimental (Good), but also lacking in the Watson department (Bit Not Good).

The stories that were told from Holmes' point of view are all right, but I had trouble getting into "The Adventure of the Lion's Mane". "The Adventure of the Blanched Soldier" was more interesting, and not just because Holmes refers to Watson's marriage (which one? Do you think I care?) as a desertion and "the only selfish action which I can recall in our association." (D'aww.)

Speaking of "D'aww", this collection also contains "The Adventure of the Three Garridebs", which has the cutest scene of Holmes worried/pissed of because his Watson was put in danger. As Watson writes, "For the one and only time I caught a glimpse of a great heart as well as of a great brain." There's always such a scene in the live-action adaptations... at least the ones I've seen so far. The moment Watson's in danger or hurt, Holmes comes undone. Threaten to murder the culprit? Yeah. Sneak into the hospital in disguise? Of course. Rub his own forehead with a loaded gun? He's terribly affected and shows it, and he'll probably continue to do so, no matter what the adaptation.

*SOB* ... When is series two of Sherlock again?
(by Sexlock via tumblr)

Finally, I want to comment on all the gruesome stuff in this collection. Disfigurement, mutilation, and plain old crazy is involved in nearly half of the stories. Sure, there's death and a severed thumb in the earliest stories, but a woman mauled by a lion? God... Conan Doyle must have been in a dark, dark place. But, who could blame him? World War I was not necessarily a picnic along the Somme.

And I will say that the line that will stay with me the longest comes from "The Adventure of the Veiled Lodger", and it has nothing to do with Holmes becoming overemotional over Watson's flesh wound.

   We had risen to go, but there was something in the woman's voice which arrested Holmes's attention. He turned swifty upon her.
   "Your life is not your own," he said. "Keep your hands off it."
   "What use is it to anyone?"
   "How can you tell? The example of patient suffering is in itself the most precious of all lessons to an impatient world."

That's right. Sherlock Holmes is telling me the nice lady in the story that suicide is not the answer. A very succinct version of that Cracked article, I think, though not nearly as amusing.

I probably won't be re-reading these stories any time soon... except for maybe "The Three Garridebs". It's my favorite of the bunch, and not just because Holmes has a breakdown over Watson getting hurt. The mystery and the characters are interesting as well, and not just because one of them is a shut-in with an obsession ~~and I find him completely relatable~~.

Next time, hopefully in time for Halloween: Neil Gaiman's "A Study in Emerald".